Chapter 1429
Domination
Chapter 1429 Domination
"I'm not saying this to be mean, but the score you gave it is way too much! It's just a portrait, why make such a fuss!"
Just as Yin Qi was about to offer some criticism, the portrait was suddenly placed in front of him. His eyes lit up instantly as he took the portrait from Yin Yue's hands and immediately changed his tone, saying:
"That's true, it's really good, what's this again?"
"Hao Jia!"
While the young master's academy was discussing the various young ladies-in-waiting, Hao Jia, one of the ladies-in-waiting, also opened her book, which was the "Admonitions for Women" that she had gone to great lengths to bring in.
However, upon opening the pages, it was clear that this was not a "Women's Precepts" at all, but rather portraits and information of various young masters, while also sharing information about several eligible young masters from Xinchuan.
At the same time, an old man came to Lin Hao's room, sat down without saying a word and started playing chess. Of course, playing chess was a cover; chatting was the real purpose.
"Young Master's chess playing style is quite different from his usual behavior. He no longer plays it safe, but his moves are spontaneous and unpredictable, yet they always hit the mark and deliver a fatal blow!"
"Young Master's chess skills have improved greatly!" the old man praised twice, then changed the subject:
"However, the young master is nearing twenty, yet the lord has yet to grant him permission to establish his own residence and attend court. In my humble opinion, the best course of action is to wait for an opportune moment."
The old man was none other than Junior Tutor Dai Di. Upon hearing this, Lin Hao raised a chess piece and smiled slightly, saying:
"What you say is true. At this moment, I am still not of legal age and indeed need to continue to lie low!"
"Ah~!" Lin Hao sighed.
“My eldest half-brother is stationed in Mochuan, while the rest of the land outside belongs to my eldest legitimate brother. Although my third brother is favored and spoiled by our father, he still has to bow down to him!”
"Fourth Brother, on the other hand, only followed his lead, which allowed him to establish his own residence and attend court. He only got a sinecure in the Ministry of Rites. If I hadn't been a sick man taking care of myself, I would have been bowing and scraping!"
Having arrived in this world, Lin Hao wasn't particularly interested in these power struggles; after all, he was here to enjoy life.
Since the purpose of this trip is to enjoy life, why not have a sweet romance with Li Wei, this adorable girl? And Yuan Ying, who is good at managing the household, is also quite nice. Having such a woman in charge of the household would be incredibly comfortable.
As for the future struggle to become the new Lord of the River, he plans to let things take their course, following the path taken by the original protagonist, Yin Zheng, to see if he can ascend to the position of the new Lord of the River and rule over the Nine Rivers.
In fact, with his strength, he could easily conquer the world with force. But if everything is solved with force, what fun is there in life?
There are just too many worlds vying for supremacy, and it's impossible for every world to be a battleground. There's really no need to take a lighthearted comedy like this too seriously.
"The Fifth Young Master is unruly and neglects his studies. His Majesty has been reluctant to allow him to attend court. It will not be easy for the Young Master to surpass his elder brother!"
"But this year, Young Master has consistently ranked first in the imperial examinations. I think His Majesty should have taken note of that!"
Lin Hao smiled, casually placed another chess piece, and said, following his words:
"I have nine brothers, but the Lord of Chuan only has two eyes. If I want to gain his attention and enter officialdom, I still need to plan carefully!"
"This time, with the selection process in Jiuchuan, I'm afraid the Lord won't be able to attend to the young master!" Dai Di also placed a chess piece, shaking his head as he reminded him.
"It's no fun to climb the social ladder through marriage. I can earn everything I want through my own efforts," Lin Hao said confidently.
As he spoke, Lin Hao placed a chess piece down, looked at Dai Di in front of him, and smiled, saying, "Thank you for the concession!"
Looking at the chessboard that had been defeated in one fell swoop, Dai Di put down the chess piece, shook his head, and said:
“I know that the young master is proud and arrogant, but the young master should also find a reliable family for his wife. Danmo and Liangchuan have strong military forces, Jinchuan is rich, and Daichuan is rich in minerals!”
"But if it's Jichuan, it's good for nothing except for its feng shui!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Hao rubbed his chin and said, "If we choose a woman from Jichuan, that would be good too, as it would ensure a good burial site."
"Moreover, if we were to make plans regarding marriage, it might arouse the Lord's suspicion. Our plans must be just right; if we go too far, it will backfire on us!"
"Since you have chosen me, please believe that I will not let you down!"
Just as Lin Hao was talking to his supporter, Dai Di, the selection process had already begun.
The first three to enter were Shangguan Jing, Li Wei, and Hao Jia.
"Princess Shangguan, please come forward!" the nanny called out loudly from the side.
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jing took a few steps forward with an air of aloofness and stood in the center of the hall.
"What is Princess Shangguan's family background?"
"The old nanny is already calling me Princess, doesn't she know what my family background is like?" Shangguan Jing retorted haughtily, her dashing demeanor making Li Wei, who was standing to the side, extremely envious.
Next, Shangguan Jing was asked a question, and she retorted with a question. When asked what books she read, she replied that they were military books. When asked why she read military books, she asked in return, "Does reading books have a gender distinction?"
The Chuan family head and his wife exchanged a glance, speechless, feeling quite helpless.
Next, Li Wei and Hao Jia stepped forward to ask and answer questions.
Li Wei naturally answered according to the lines she had memorized at home, but they were completely nonsensical, all in order to avoid being selected and quickly get her travel expenses to return to her hometown.
Li Wei's answer left the Chuanzhu and his wife even more helpless, but their disappointment was quickly replaced by joy.
Because Hao Jia was different from the others, she came from a humble background, was not valued at home, and was often bullied by her sisters.
Therefore, she hoped to make a name for herself after marrying into Xinchuan. Thus, Hao Jia's answer was naturally carefully prepared.
In addition, she has extremely high emotional intelligence and perfect reading comprehension, so what she said was practically the standard answer, hitting the nail on the head of the Chuan family in the heart.
Therefore, after the three people finished answering the questions and left, Mrs. Chuan spoke:
"Ji Chuan is a rather unruly child, but I quite like Hao Jia; Lao Wu has mentioned her to me before."
The new Chuanzhu smiled and nodded, saying, "The fifth son is useless. If he could get a proper wife, it would make him more mature!"
"Hmm, that makes sense!"
Over here, Hao Jia and Li Wei left. While chatting, Hao Jia looked at the young master's villa and asked Li Wei if there was any way to get in.
As a good friend, Li Wei naturally agreed without hesitation. So the two women followed the palace maid and sneaked in, while the guards turned a blind eye. After all, they weren't blind and knew that these two were the future wives of the young master.
In a pavilion in the young master's villa, Lin Hao looked at the chess game on the table, occasionally glancing at the conversation between the eldest son and the fourth and fifth sons.
While fishing, the eldest son, Yin Song, condescendingly lectured the fifth son, Yin Qi, beside him:
"After the selection of women from Jiuchuan, you will be married. Your father even said he would let you establish your own household and attend court, but you are always lazing around!"
"The articles you submit are full of typos; I can't even stand reading them. The Ministry of Rites evaluates the young masters who attend court every month, and they won't give you any leeway."
After saying that, he looked at the fourth young master, Yin Jun, who was standing to the side and asked, "Fourth brother, what did they say about you this month?"
Yin Jun chuckled: "I used a line from the story of the rat: 'The rat has skin, but the man has no manners!'"
The eldest son, Yin Song, raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "The next line of this poem is: 'If a person has no manners, what is the point of living?'"
“The position I arranged for your fourth brother is as a supervisor in the Department of Rites, their superior. They still dare to impeach your fourth brother. Just think about what will happen then?” “The Department of Rites won’t scold my second brother anyway, so of course you’re talking without thinking!” The fifth brother, Yin Qi, retorted unhappily.
Instantly, Yin Song's face darkened:
"Heh, if you have any complaints about me, you can try to write a memorial impeaching me, just don't write a memorial full of typos and embarrass Xinchuan!"
"Fifth brother, quickly apologize to the eldest son. Do you still want to establish your own residence?" The fourth brother quickly gave him a look, urging him to apologize immediately.
He meant well, but unfortunately, the person he was talking to was Yin Qi, that honest and simple guy.
"Whether I come or not, no, I just don't understand, so many brothers are useless, why do you single me out to scold me?" Yin Qi looked at the eldest son with resentment.
Upon seeing this, Lin Hao pushed the chess pieces on the table onto the ground.
After all, the information conveyed by this identity is that the two have a good relationship, and although Lao Wu Yin Qi is somewhat simple-minded, he is quite loyal and not very scheming.
"Tap!" The eyes of several people were instantly drawn to it.
"What are you doing?" Yin Qi quickly ran over to help pick up the chess pieces.
"I'm so sorry to have disturbed everyone," Lin Hao said apologetically.
After Yin Song arrived and glanced at the chessboard, he said, "Sixth Brother, you've broken my chess game?"
"What does Sixth Brother know about chess? Don't try to teach a fish to swim!" Fourth Brother Yin Jun chimed in to support him.
Fifth brother Yin Qi chimed in, "That's right, that's right. Sixth brother, what do you know about chess? Second brother has been setting up this endgame for so many days, and no one else can solve it. Only you can?"
"If Sixth Brother is interested in learning chess, how about we play another game?" Yin Song asked sarcastically.
He was clearly unhappy because his game had been broken.
"Haha, Your Highness is joking. How could I possibly know anything about chess? I just happened to see this chess game in a book and couldn't resist setting it up."
Lin Hao laughed, then clutched his stomach with a pained expression and said, "Ouch, my stomach hurts again, it hurts so much, Fifth Brother, help me up."
"Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother, are you alright?" Fifth Brother asked with concern as he helped Lin Hao up.
"I'll help you back right now. Look at you, you're not feeling well, so don't walk around like that!"
Fifth Brother Yin Qi helped Lin Hao scold him, then said a few words to the eldest young master before preparing to help Lin Hao back to the villa.
Unfortunately, they hadn't gone far when they encountered Hao Jia, who had sneaked in. The lecherous fifth brother was instantly overwhelmed with excitement upon seeing Hao Jia in person!
He then told Lin Hao to go back on his own, while he went to the beauty and fawned over her.
"She is truly beautiful, virtuous, and kind; I feel sorry for her!" Lin Hao exclaimed before passing by Hao Jia.
Hao Jia ignored the fifth prince and went to her target, the eldest son Yin Song.
He then began by evaluating Lin Hao's broken chess game, showcasing his talents in various aspects, which indeed attracted Yin Song's attention.
As she expected, Yin Song was indeed attracted by her talent and beauty.
What she didn't know was that Yin Song knew that the fifth brother liked her, and had even told his mother about it.
Therefore, he agreed to take Hao Jia as his concubine, mainly to enjoy the thrill of taking away something someone else liked.
Lin Hao didn't have many thoughts about Hao Jia. He had seen many women like her, and she didn't attract him much, especially in this ancient world.
He was more interested in Li Wei and his future wife Yuan Ying. One of them was charming and cute, and could be a playmate, while the other was independent and confident, and could manage the household.
Thinking of this, Lin Hao quietly quickened his pace, because he still needed to go to the new Sichuan Lord to take in this unpopular Li Wei!
As expected, the new Sichuan governor readily agreed to let Lin Hao marry Li Wei as his concubine. As for the principal wife, he promised that he would definitely choose a better one.
After Lin Hao thanked the new Chuanzhu, Yin Song also approached the Chuanzhu shortly after, wanting to take Hao Jia as his concubine.
As the eldest son, Lady Xinchuan was naturally pleased that her son would take a concubine to ensure the continuation of the Xinchuan lineage and solidify his position as heir. Lord Xinchuan readily granted his wife's and son's request.
So they made some adjustments, and Hao Jia, who was originally betrothed to the fifth prince's principal wife, was casually betrothed to the eldest son as a concubine, while Shangguan Jing from Danchuan was betrothed to the fifth prince as his principal wife.
After all, a strong-willed first wife could also manage this honest and simple fifth son.
Thus, Hao Jia finally achieved her goal and became the future concubine of the river lord.
Of course, this is all predicated on Yin Song actually succeeding in becoming the new governor of Sichuan; otherwise, it's all just empty talk.
As soon as Lin Hao returned to his villa, his butler, Su Shen, came to greet him.
"Didn't you go to pay your respects to the eldest son? Why are you back so early?"
"Too lazy to argue, I just said I came back with a stomachache."
"As expected of my young master, stomach pain is your old ailment, yet you can use it as an excuse so easily. Most people don't have your wit and reaction!"
"You're the one with a stomachache!" Lin Hao really wanted to retort, but all of this was due to his current identity.
Su Shen meant no harm; he was just joking. After all, the master and servant had known each other for many years and were bound to share both glory and loss.
"Go and serve the meal quickly, I'm actually quite hungry," Lin Hao instructed.
"Yes!" Su Shen replied and walked towards the kitchen.
On the other side, after separating from Hao Jia, Li Wei sat to the side and waited, without leaving the young master's residence.
"I'm so hungry! Why isn't Sister Haojia back yet?" Li Wei's stomach was rumbling as she waited for a long time without seeing her.
"Ding ding~"
Upon hearing the sound, Li Wei looked in the direction it came from and finally realized that she was sitting right at the kitchen doorway, and the sound she had just heard was the sound of food being served.
After seeing a palace maid carry away a plate of food, Li Wei went to the window.
"Ding-a-ling~, ding-a-ling!"
Li Wei shook the small bell at the window, just like the palace maid had done, but no one responded.
Curious, she opened the window, and her eyes lit up instantly when she saw the delicious food on the table.
He quickly went in through the door to the side, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.
While eating, he argued, "It's past mealtime, and there's still so much left. Wouldn't it be a waste not to eat it?"